In a spellbinding new masterpiece by author H. A. Bryant, Matt Kelly undertakes a high-stakes investigation. The legendary PI and kickboxer Matt Kelly has at long last severed ties with his friends in Tokyo and settled quietly in Nagoya, the only place where he thinks he can ever truly know peace. His beautiful girlfriend, Mitsuko, has taken over the day-to-day management of a dress shop in the neighborhood of Marunouchi, Naka-ku, Nagoya. But when a mother, a Mrs. Nishimoto, asks Matt to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and possible abduction of her daughter, he is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems. For his part, Matt spends his days first in Hakusanbora, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, and later in Sakae’s streets and alleys looking for the missing woman. And later back to Tokyo to get help from some new friends. As Matt delves deeper into the investigation, he uncovers layers of corruption and deceit that reach far beyond the missing woman and the Chubu-kai yakuza. He finds himself in a dangerous game of wits against some of the most powerful and dangerous people in the country, and realizes that he will have to use all of his skills and intelligence to stay one step ahead of his enemies and uncover the truth. With the help of his friends in Tokyo, including a former lawyer and a brilliant investigator, Matt races against time to find the missing woman and bring those responsible for her disappearance to justice. Along the way, he must navigate the complexities of Japanese society, from the glamorous nightclubs of Sakae to the seedy back alleys of Nagoya, in order to piece together the puzzle and stay alive. The deeper Matt delves into the investigation, the more he realizes that nothing is what it seems, and that the truth is far more sinister than he ever imagined. Will he be able to uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice, or will he become just another pawn in a deadly game of power and deceit?

Number 4 in the Matt Kelly series starts slowly—unless philately is your thing—but quickly picks up the pace, leading to a vintage Kelly climax that evokes the classic movie "Cape Fear." Kelly is reluctant to get involved in an aging stamp dealer's problems—inexplicably, a client's stamp collection worth millions of yen has been switched with one containing far less valuable material—but the dealer is an old friend of Kelly's friend and sometimes colleague Miller, and, in the end, Miller usually gets what he wants. It doesn't hurt that one of the stamp dealer's assistants is a five foot buxom doll called Masako and is nearly as fit as the legendarily flat-bellied Kelly. As Miller cogitates over how a bank locked-room switch could have been engineered, Kelly noses around the client, a supposed financial investment advisor, who turns out to be a money launderer for the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza. Series fans will immediately see that the investment advisor/yakuza does more than the laundry—the advisor's own clients clearly indicate that Kelly has found his adversary. No one is quite what they seem this time around—Masako and the investment advisor/yakuza, especially—and it takes Kelly quite a while to put the pieces together. Cut to a rented cabin cruiser, heading to Oshima Island, as Kelly lays in wait for a predawn visit from the investment advisor/yakuza on his way, just like in the classic movie "Cape Fear," to settle scores once and for all.

A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture “Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal “Don’t trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman’s own laugh-out-loud whodunit.” —Parade Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?

Mystery fiction, although essentially the same in all its national varieties, nevertheless comes in several types and several wrappings. The present study of American, Australian, and Canadian detective fiction concerns literature which speaks in the ways of heroes and humanities about the human condition. All authors studied here, to one degree or another, demonstrate their concern with human society, some more strongly than others, but all with their eyes on the human situation and human existence. At times these studies lean toward the tragic in their outlook and development. In all instances they center on the humanistic.

***WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION'S INTERNATIONAL DAGGER 2017*** ***WINNER OF THE DANISH ACADEMY OF CRIME WRITERS' PALLE ROSENKRANTZ PRIZE (Best Crime Novel 2012)*** ***WINNER OF THE FINNISH ACADEMY OF CRIME WRITERS' AWARD (Best Crime Novel 2012)*** ***WINNER OF THE GLASS KEY (Best Scandinavian Crime Novel 2011)*** ***WINNER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY OF CRIME WRITERS' AWARD (Best Crime Novel of the Year 2010)*** LARS MARTIN JOHANSSON is a living legend. Cunning and perceptive, always one step ahead, he was known in the National Criminal Police as “the man who could see around corners.” But now Johansson is retired, living in the country, his police days behind him. Or so he thinks. After suffering a stroke, Johansson finds himself in the hospital. Tests show heart problems as well. And the only thing that can save him from despair is his doctor’s mention of an unsolved murder case from years before. The victim: an innocent nine-year-old girl. Johansson is determined to solve the case, no matter his condition. With the help of his assistant, Matilda, an amateur detective, and Max, an orphan with a personal stake in the case, he launches an informal investigation from his hospital bed. Racing against time, he uncovers a web of connections that links sex tourism to a dead opera singer and a self-made millionaire. And as Johansson draws closer to solving the crime, he finds that he will have to confront not just a mystery but his own mortality as well.

After a successful investigation in the resort town of Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture, Matt Kelly receives a request to go to Shinjuku and interview an exotic dancer who has had a personal item stolen from her. As Kelly investigates, he eventually uncovers evidence that indicates that the exotic dancer and the wife of a prominent professor both had a personal item stolen the same way. But the question before Kelly isn't necessarily who, or how, but why. ​ Many of the leads Kelly is chasing help him solve parts of the case, but others turn out to be phantoms. How can Kelly find out why someone is robbing these two women. ​ One thing leads to another and Kelly determines what the why is and he doesn’t like it. ​ This second installment of this thrilling Japanese series finds Matt Kelly embroiled in a conflict between an old adversary and a new one. At stake: Japan, Asia, and the world. Are these criminals part of the local yakuza or just lone wolf criminals or SOMETHING ELSE?

“Much like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, M. L. Rio’s sparkling debut is a richly layered story of love, friendship, and obsession...will keep you riveted through its final, electrifying moments.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest "Nerdily (and winningly) in love with Shakespeare...Readable, smart.” —New York Times Book Review On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it. A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras. But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent. If We Were Villains was named one of Bustle's Best Thriller Novels of the Year, and Mystery Scene says, "A well-written and gripping ode to the stage...A fascinating, unorthodox take on rivalry, friendship, and truth."